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Yona Yona Ale - one of the best

One of my favourite beers in Tokyo is Yona Yona ale. Yona Yona means, “night after night”, in Japanese. It’s not really a Tokyo beer though, as it is brewed in Nagano, which is on the other side of the country. Anyway, you can buy it in Tokyo which is great, because it is a really good beer. And believe me, with everything that is happening in Japan recently, we all need a good drink.

Yona Yona Ale - a great Japanese beer

I have to say one strange thing about the company that makes this beer before we go any further. In Japanese it calls itself, Yaho, but in English it calls itself YO-HO. It really has to be a Japanese thing. Obviously, if you are talking about “YOHO brewing” in Japan, no one is going to have any idea what you are talking about because they use a different word! Only in Japan I guess. But then again, this company isn’t the only one that does it.

Anyway, back to drinking … Yono Yono is a good beer. It is 5.5% alcohol and in the glass, it is attractive with its strong amber colour that has an easily forming head. The head, is almost tan, not white. I don’t think it is overly carbonated, but it is a little bitter with both a strong fruity taste and aroma. In the mouth, it feels slightly thick. It really is the type of beer I would enjoy at a barbeque. Overall, I give it very high marks.

According to the internet, Yona Yona has been sighted in restaurants and izakayas, but I’ve never seen it in any. On the company website, it says the beer is sold in 350 ml aluminium cans at supermarkets and over the internet. Whenever I’ve bought it at a store, it usually cost me around 270 yen.

If you’ve tried Yona Yona, please let me know what you think of it by leaving a note below. And if you haven’t tried it, well, you should because it is very nice. The website for YOHO, or maybe Yaho, can be seen here. Please check because if you are reading this overseas, you might be able to buy it somewhere near you.